FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

China

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of human rights in China.

Hugo Swire: We published our quarterly human rights report update, giving our latest assessment of human rights in China, on 17 October
	www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk
	We welcome recent announcements made by Chinese leaders regarding reform in several areas including anti-corruption and rule of law and the recent announcement that the Re-education Through Labour system will be abolished. However, we remain concerned about restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the rule of law, minority rights and the treatment of individual human rights defenders. We encourage China to lift the barriers that still remain with regards to ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
	We believe dialogue with the Chinese Government on these issues is the best way to help bring about positive change. Ministers and officials are consistent in raising their concerns on human rights in public and in private with China at the highest political levels, and jointly with our international partners. We most recently raised our concerns about human rights issues on 16 October with the Chinese authorities. We are seeking to agree dates for the next Human Rights Dialogue with the Chinese Government.

China

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in China on the use of organs taken from executed prisoners.

Hugo Swire: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer to the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) dated 22 April 2013, Official Report, column 633W. Our position has not changed.
	A quarterly update to the human rights report was published on 17 October and can be found at:
	www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk

Iran

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of patterns of violence perpetrated against the Baha'i community in Iran; and what assessment his Department has made of the level of threat to members of the Iranian Baha'i community.

Hugh Robertson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly receives reports about the situation of the Baha'i in Iran from a wide-range of sources. The most recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran highlights a worrying escalation of the systematic persecution of Bahai's in Iran, including their arbitrary detention and torture. I call again on the Government of Iran to end human rights abuses perpetrated against the Baha'i and other religious minorities.

Maldives

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his latest assessment of the situation in the Maldives is.

Hugo Swire: As outlined in the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs’ statement of 19 October 2013, the British Government is deeply dismayed by further delays to the Maldives presidential elections. There is currently uncertainty over when the electoral process will be resumed. As the Secretary of State stated,
	‘continuing challenges to prevent elections taking place will be seen as nothing less than an attempt to frustrate the democratic process.'
	We are concerned that further delays could result in damage to Maldives international reputation and economy, despite the best efforts of the Maldives Elections Commission to get the process back on track.
	The UK, with our international partners, has offered support to the process throughout, as well as by sending electoral observers. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and to urge all parties to act in the interests of Maldives and work to strengthen democracy in that country. It is important that the Elections Commission, as an independent body, are given the space needed to make preparations for elections.

Telephone Services

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what geographic telephone number his Department advertises for use by the general public.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advertises London telephone numbers for use by the general public on gov.uk/fco. Local numbers for many of our overseas posts can also be found there. In addition the Legalisation Office advertises a non-geographic UK wide hotline number.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax: Arrears

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have been in council tax arrears since April 2013; and what the total amount of such arrears is.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 17 October 2013, Official Report, column 866W.

Empty Property: Shops

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of high street vacancy rates.

Brandon Lewis: My Department does not collect or publish data relating to high street vacancy rates. There are several commercial sources of shop vacancy rates data available, including from the Local Data Company and Springboard, who publish overall trends in the public domain.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Betting Shops

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit single-staffing of betting shops.

Helen Grant: Like any workplace, betting premises must operate within the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations 1999. In addition, powers to prohibit single-staffing in betting shops already reside with local authorities who can impose specific licence conditions at an individual premises if there is evidence that single-staffing poses a risk to the licensing objectives set out in the Gambling Act. The Government therefore has no plans to bring forward additional legislative proposals at this time.

Broadband: East Riding

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding her Department has granted in 2013 to help deliver or improve rural broadband in East Yorkshire.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK signed a grant agreement with the East Riding of Yorkshire project for £5,570,000 on the 16 September 2013.

Telecommunications: Billing

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with Ofcom on preventing broadband, media and mobile telephone companies from charging vulnerable customers for receiving billing and statements through the post.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State has not discussed with Ofcom measures aimed at preventing broadband, media and mobile telephone companies from charging vulnerable customers for receiving billing and statements through the post. However, a range of measures exist to protect vulnerable consumers, in particular, from charges associated with paper billing and statements. For example, across the telecoms sector, blind or visually impaired consumers who have requested paper bills in an accessible format such as large print and Braille, and consumers on social tariffs such as BT Basic and in receipt of certain means-tested benefits, are not charged for paper bills.
	In other cases, Ofcom rules require that suppliers should make sure that terms relating to charges for itemised and paper billing are presented to customers up front when entering a contract and are clear, transparent and easily accessible. Generally, charges for paper bills from the main providers are about £1.50 to £2.50 a month.

Telephone Services

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's policy is on the use of geographical telephone numbers to allow the public to contact her Department.

Helen Grant: DCMS does not have a policy; all our numbers are 020.

PRIME MINISTER

Oil: Scotland

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister what meetings he has had with representatives from the oil import and distribution companies with regard to increasing the amount of oil imported into Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [R]

David Cameron: Details of my meetings and those of my ministerial colleagues with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis. Details can be accessed on the gov.uk website.

NORTHERN IRELAND

North-South Review

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what steps she is taking with her Irish counterpart to ensure the completion of the North-South Review; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with her Irish counterpart on the North-South Review.

Theresa Villiers: I understand that a review as set out in paragraph 19 of Annex A of the St Andrews Agreement is still taking place. The conduct of the review is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Syria

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with her European counterparts on establishing a co-ordinated European resettlement programme for the most vulnerable refugees from the Syrian conflict.

Mark Harper: The Government shares the deep concerns of other member states regarding the continuing humanitarian crisis in Syria. However, the Government has no current plans to resettle Syrian refugees. We continue to believe that the EU's immediate priority should be to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced people in partnership with neighbouring countries and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The UK has now increased its pledge for the Syrian relief effort to £500 million. This represents the UK's largest ever response to a humanitarian crisis.
	We continue to discuss the Syrian crisis with our European partners and the Minister for Security reiterated our position at the recent Justice and Home Affairs Council on 8 October.

Christopher Tappin

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the extradition of Christopher Tappin.

Mark Harper: holding answer 10 October 2013
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department has not made any estimate of the cost of this particular case.
	It has been estimated that the average cost to execute a European arrest warrant is £20,000. Work is currently under way to estimate the average cost of a Part 2 (non-EU) case.

Detainees: Young People

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been detained by the UK Border Agency from 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013 who were subsequently found to be under the age of 18.

Mark Harper: It is not possible to provide the number of individuals detained as adults who were subsequently found to be under the age of 18 without the examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
	We have radically changed the immigration system to ensure that the welfare of children is at the heart of the decision and removals process. On occasion, new information may come to light which indicates that a person we are treating as an adult is in fact a minor. In these exceptional circumstances, we would seek to release them to social services at the earliest opportunity, pending an age assessment.

Entry Clearances: Syria

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on (a) the closure of the visa service in Syria, (b) the visa application centres in Turkey now accepting applications for entry clearance from Syrian nationals and (c) additional support to be given to the visa application centres in Turkey in light of this policy change.

Mark Harper: holding answer 18 October 2013
	My officials are in regular contact with colleagues from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) regarding the current situation in Syria and the closure of the Visa Application Centre (VAC) for security reasons remains under review.
	Any applicant can apply for a visit visa at any post in the world. When the VAC in Syria was closed, Amman (Jordan) and Beirut (Lebanon) were designated as the VACs where Syrian nationals could apply for all categories of entry clearance.
	In the latest published figures (for decisions made in August 2013), both posts were meeting their customer service standards.
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/general-info/processing-times/#resultTableAnchor
	My officials closely monitor application rates globally and staffing is reinforced if demand affects our ability to meet our published customer service standards.

Ibrahim Magag

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the threat posed to the UK by Ibrahim Magag.

James Brokenshire: We do not routinely comment on intelligence matters.

Illegal Immigrants

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish the responses received by her Department to the consultation on tackling illegal immigration in privately rented accommodation.

Mark Harper: holding answer 18 October 2013
	A response to the consultation was published on 10 October 2013. It is available for downloading on the Government's website:
	www.gov.uk
	with a range of other documentation relating to the introduction of the Immigration Bill on the same day. The response summarises the responses received to the consultation, but does not entail publishing the many hundreds of responses received.

Illegal Immigrants: Employment

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to increase the collection of fines from employers of illegal migrant workers.

Mark Harper: holding answer 15 October 2013
	The Immigration Bill, introduced to Parliament on 10 October, proposes some specific steps to make it easier to enforce the recovery of unpaid civil penalty debts in the civil courts.
	In the meantime, our officials are active members of a cross Government effort looking at driving down the levels of unpaid debt and so have some initiatives in train to drive up levels of payment in advance of the enactment of new legislation.

Immigrants: English Language

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what current level of English language proficiency is required for those arriving on (a) ICT Long term staff, (b) ICT Short term staff, (c) ICT Graduate Trainee and (d)  ICT Skills Transfer visas; and what such levels will be following the upcoming implementation of changes to immigration rules announced on 6 September 2013.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 October 2013
	The changes in Immigration Rules laid on 6 September (HC 628) came into force on 1 October.
	Before that date, the only English language requirement for Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs) was for those in the ICT Long Term Staff category applying to extend their stay in the UK beyond three years. This was set at a basic user standard—level A1 on the Council of Europe's Common European Framework for Language Learning.
	From 1 October, that language requirement has been removed, so there are now no English language requirements for ICT categories. This provides additional flexibility for employers and reflects ICT’s' temporary status. Since 2010 we have reformed the ICT route so that it is now time-limited, and we have brought in a cooling-off period to ensure that migrants do not undertake repeated ICT periods in the UK. For these reasons, English language is less relevant than it is for those intending to migrate to the UK permanently.

Immigrants: Syria

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people with Syrian nationality are currently held in each immigration detention centre.

Mark Harper: The following table shows nationals of Syria detained solely under Immigration Act powers in immigration removal centres (IRC), short term holding facilities (STHF) and pre departure accommodation (PDA), as at 30 June 2013, the latest date for which information is available is as follows:
	
		
			 Place of detention Number of detainees 
			 Brook House IRC 4 
			 Campsfield House IRC 1 
			 Colnbrook IRC 1 
			 Dover IRC 11 
			 Dungavel IRC 2 
			 Harmondsworth IRC 0 
			 Haslar IRC 1 
			 Morton Hall IRC 2 
			 Tinsley House IRC 3 
			 Yarl’s Wood IRC 1 
			 Colnbrook STHF 0 
			 Larne House STHF 0 
			 Pennine House STHF 0 
			 Cedars PDA 0 
			 Total detainees 26 
		
	
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of people detained in the UK, within Immigration Statistics. The data on people in detention by nationality are readily available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: April to June 2013, table dt_11_q from the GOV.UK website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
	Published figures on people held are those detained in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, including short term holding facilities and pre departure accommodation in addition to immigration removal centres but excluding those in police cells, Prison Service establishments, short term holding rooms at ports and airports (for less than 24 hours), and those recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers and their dependants.

Immigration

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether security checks for further leave to remain applications are made to (a) UK authorities or (b) external authorities.

Mark Harper: holding answer 23 October 2013
	Security checks for further leave to remain applications are made to UK authorities.

Immigration: Greater London

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration raids were carried out on businesses in (a) Rupert Street, (b) Wardour Street, (c) Dansey Place, (d) Macclesfield Street, (e) Gerrard Street, (f) Horse and Dolphin Yard, (g) Gerrard Place, (h) Newport Place, (i) Little Newport Street, (j) Leicester Place, (k) Leicester Court, (l) Leicester Street and (m) Lisle Street in London W1 between 1 January and 30 September 2013.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 October 2013
	It is not possible to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate costs.

Immigration: Greater London

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at how many raids in (a) Rupert Street, (b) Wardour Street, (c) Dansey Place, (d) Macclesfield Street, (e) Gerrard Street, (f) Horse and Dolphin Yard, (g) Gerrard Place, (h) Newport Place, (i) Little Newport Street, (j) Leicester Place, (k) Leicester Court, (l) Leicester Street and (m) Lisle Street between 1 January and 30 September 2013 Capita staff were present; and how much in total was paid to Capita for those raids.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 October 2013
	Capita staff have not accompanied the Immigration and Compliance Enforcement Team on any raids in the W1 area between 1 January and 30 September 2013.

Immigration: Greater London

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were found to be illegal immigrants at raids in (a) Rupert Street, (b) Wardour Street, (c) Dansey Place, (d) Macclesfield Street, (e) Gerrard Street, (f) Horse and Dolphin Yard, (g) Gerrard Place, (h) Newport Place, (i) Little Newport Street, (j) Leicester Place, (k) Leicester Court, (l) Leicester Street and (m) Lisle Street between 1 January and 30 September 2013; how many of them were released after arrest; how many of them have been deported; how many fines were issued to businesses as a result of those raids; what the total amount of fines was; and how much has been recouped in fines.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 October 2013
	The data held required to respond to this question are held on multiple IT systems. Therefore we are not able to provide the information required without incurring disproportionate costs.

Immigration: Married People

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department following the High Court judgment of 5 July 2013 on the minimum income threshold for spouses or partners and children applying in the family route, what guidance her Department has issued regarding passports and other documents that have been submitted with applications made under Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules that have been subject to the hold on decision-making.

Mark Harper: The Home Office has issued guidance to applicants on its immigration website (at the following link) which includes advice for those whose case is subject to the hold on decision-making and who want their passport returned because they need to travel.
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsfragments/88-min-income-update
	The Home Office's immigration website contains guidance for applicants (at the following link) on how to ask for the return of other documents.
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/contact/return-of-documents/

Immigration: Scotland

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding asylum and immigration cases initiated since May 2010 remain to be concluded in each (a) parliamentary constituency in Scotland and (b) local authority area in Scotland.

Mark Harper: We are not able to provide the data in the format requested since we do not capture information based on parliamentary constituencies. The following data relates to main applicants with a postcode in the Scotland Government Department area by local authority where there is a valid postcode on the Case Information Database (CID) which matches the ONS Postcode database.
	The data is not available as a National Statistic.
	The data used to supply this response is taken from the Case Information Database (CID). Data taken from CID is completely reliant on the quality and timeliness of the information held on the database. As such this is Management Information which is subject to change. This data has been provided by and assured by the Home Office Performance and Compliance Unit.
	
		
			 Permanent migration 
			 Local authority Number of cases 
			 Aberdeen City 294 
			 Aberdeenshire 51 
			 Angus 16 
			 Argyll and Bute 20 
			 Clackmannanshire 10 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 19 
			 Dundee City 73 
			 East Ayrshire 12 
		
	
	
		
			 East Dunbartonshire 26 
			 East Lothian 22 
			 East Renfrewshire 22 
			 Edinburgh, City of 427 
			 Eilean Siar 2 
			 Falkirk 35 
			 Fife 91 
			 Glasgow City 593 
			 Highland 77 
			 Inverclyde 15 
			 Midlothian 18 
			 Moray 20 
			 North Ayrshire 12 
			 North Lanarkshire 56 
			 Orkney Islands 2 
			 Perth and Kinross 35 
			 Renfrewshire 42 
			 Scottish Borders 15 
			 Shetland Islands 7 
			 South Ayrshire 17 
			 South Lanarkshire 65 
			 Stirling 24 
			 West Dunbartonshire 13 
			 West Lothian 42 
			 Total 2,173 
		
	
	
		
			 Temporary migration 
			 Local authority Number of cases 
			 Aberdeen City 118 
			 Aberdeenshire 7 
			 Angus 5 
			 Argyll and Bute 10 
			 Clackmannanshire 3 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 7 
			 Dundee City 53 
			 East Ayrshire 3 
			 East Dunbartonshire 7 
			 East Lothian 5 
			 East Renfrewshire 9 
			 Edinburgh, City of 286 
			 Falkirk 23 
			 Fife 45 
			 Glasgow City 481 
			 Highland 14 
			 Inverclyde 1 
			 Midlothian 4 
			 Moray 6 
			 North Ayrshire 4 
			 North Lanarkshire 41 
			 Perth and Kinross 24 
			 Renfrewshire 46 
			 Scottish Borders 5 
			 South Ayrshire 13 
			 South Lanarkshire 35 
			 Stirling 23 
			 West Dunbartonshire 8 
			 West Lothian 19 
			 Total 1,305 
		
	
	
		
			 Asylum 
			 Local authority Number of cases 
			 Aberdeen City 12 
			 Aberdeenshire 4 
			 Angus 3 
		
	
	
		
			 Argyll and Bute 1 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 5 
			 Dundee City 5 
			 East Ayrshire 1 
			 East Dunbartonshire 1 
			 East Lothian 1 
			 East Renfrewshire 2 
			 Edinburgh, City of 41 
			 Falkirk 6 
			 Fife 9 
			 Glasgow City 996 
			 Highland 6 
			 Moray 1 
			 North Ayrshire 5 
			 North Lanarkshire 9 
			 Perth and Kinross 2 
			 Renfrewshire 4 
			 Scottish Borders 1 
			 South Ayrshire 5 
			 South Lanarkshire 10 
			 Stirling 2 
			 West Dunbartonshire 1 
			 West Lothian 6 
			 Total 1,139

Immigration: Stratford

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she made of the potential impact on community cohesion ahead of her Department's immigration status checks in Stratford.

Mark Harper: British Transport police were the lead agency and as such are responsible for a community impact assessment.

Immigration: Stratford

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what risk assessment was undertaken before her Department instigated immigration status checks in Stratford.

Mark Harper: British Transport police were the lead agency and as such are responsible for the completion of a risk assessment.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 2 September 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Christian Felix Okafor.

Mark Harper: My noble Friend Lord Taylor of Holbeach, Minister for Criminal Information, replied on my behalf on 14 October 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 2 September 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr S. D. Amawu.

Mark Harper: My noble Friend Lord Taylor of Holbeach, Minister for Criminal Information, replied on my behalf on 10 October 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 2 September 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Karen Faith;
	(2)  when she intends to reply to the letter of 4 September 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Arif;
	(3)  when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 9 September 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Shasta Parveen Fazalbad.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 8 October 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 4 September 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms N. Kona.

Mark Harper: The Minister for Criminal Information, my noble Friend, Lord Holbeach, replied on my behalf on 10 October 2013

Syria

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with her counterparts in EU countries to discuss the need to share responsibility for Syrian refugees and resettling refugees across Europe;
	(2)  if she will begin an immediate programme of emergency humanitarian evacuations for the most vulnerable Syrian refugees in conjunction with the UNHCR and other countries.

Mark Harper: holding answer 21 October2013
	The Government shares the deep concerns of other member states regarding the continuing humanitarian crisis in Syria. However, the Government has no current plans to resettle Syrian refugees. We continue to believe that the EU's immediate priority should be to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced people in partnership with neighbouring countries and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The UK has now increased its pledge for the Syrian relief effort to £500 million. This represents the UK's largest ever response to a humanitarian crisis.
	We continue to discuss the Syrian crisis with our European partners and the Minister for Security reiterated our position at the recent Justice and Home Affairs Council on 8 October.

UK Visas and Immigration

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to her letter of 2 September 2013 to the interim director general of UK Visas and Immigration on behalf of a constituent, CTS ref B23798/13.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 October 2013
	The Director of Immigration Operations replied to the hon. Member on 9 October 2013.

UK Visas and Immigration

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to his letter to the Interim Director General, UK Visa and Immigration of 3 September 2013 on behalf of a constituent, CTS ref M11944/13.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 October 2013
	The Director General responsible for UK Visas and Immigration responded to the hon. Member on 11 October 2013.

UK Visas and Immigration

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to his letter to the interim Director General UK Visas and Immigration of 16 September 2013 on behalf of a constituent CTS ref B25111/13.

Mark Harper: holding answer 21 October 2013
	UK Visas and Immigration wrote to the hon. Member on 17 October 2013.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the cause of the changes in estimate of the badger population in the Gloucestershire and Somerset cull zones between October 2012 and February 2013; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: All wildlife population estimates have some degree of uncertainty around them. The estimates made in February 2013 were based on fieldwork carried out in autumn 2012 and were the best estimates available at that time of the badger population in 2012. Further hair trapping fieldwork was carried out immediately prior to the commencement of the culls earlier this year which allowed more up-to-date estimates to be made, based on the best available information, of the badger population in 2013.
	The fieldwork does not provide any information on the reason for the population decline between the two studies.

Gangmasters

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made on introducing civil penalties for gangmaster-related offences.

George Eustice: DEFRA consulted earlier this year on proposals to make available to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) civil sanctions under the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008. Discussions continue with the GLA on the use of these additional powers.
	The Government response to the consultation is available online:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-scope-and-governance-of-the-gangmasters-licensing-authority

Marine Conservation Zones

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to announce his decision on which areas to designate as marine conservation zones.

George Eustice: We aim to announce the decision on designation of the first set of new Marine Conservation Zones shortly; along with a summary of site-specific issues raised in the consultation.

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff were made redundant from non-departmental public bodies accountable to his Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many redundancy payments were made in lieu of notice.

Dan Rogerson: The number of staff made redundant from DEFRA non-departmental public bodies are published in DEFRA's Annual Report of Accounts (ARA). Links to the years requested are provided as follows:
	DEFRA Annual Report 2012-13 (pages 118 and 119)
	DEFRA Annual Report 2011-12 (pages 115 and 116)
	DEFRA Annual Report 2010-11 (page 91).
	Further details for each of the bodies will be in their ARAs, as published on their websites.
	Compensation in lieu of notice is paid if an agreed departure date is before the end of the contractual notice period. Records of compensation in lieu of notice are not kept centrally and therefore any attempt to collate this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in his Department were made redundant in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many such staff received payments in lieu of notice.

Dan Rogerson: When a role comes to an end, redeployment or voluntary departure is considered before compulsory redundancy for the member of staff carrying out that role.
	The following information shows numbers of compulsory redundancies and voluntary departures (voluntary exits or voluntary redundancies) from core DEFRA.
	
		
			 Core DEFRA 
			  Number of compulsory redundancies Number of voluntary departures 
			 2010-11 3 321 
			 2011-12 0 20 
			 2012-13 0 52 
		
	
	A total of 15 staff received payments in lieu of notice in 2012-13. To obtain numbers for previous years records would have to be extracted manually and therefore any attempt to collate this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Weed Control

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many enforcement notices have been served on occupiers of private land under the Weeds Act 1959 on owners failing to prevent the spread of weeds including ragwort in each of the last five years.

George Eustice: The table shows the number of enforcement notices for failing to prevent the spread of weeds for the last five years.
	The 2009 and 2010 figures are all encompassing as they were not, at the time split between categories of land owners. From 2011 onwards the figures only relate directly to enforcement notices served on private landowners.
	
		
			  Enforcements 
			 2009 40 
			 2010 24 
			 2011 51 
			 2012 32 
			 2013 28 
		
	
	Enforcement is very much a last resort method to encourage compliance with the Weeds Act. Where possible we encourage and facilitate communications between complainants and the landowners to take action. In the vast majority of cases this approach is successful.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Carbon Emissions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of carbon pricing on businesses in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Government analyses the impact of energy and climate change policies on all consumers including businesses, and publishes this assessment in DECC's annual Price and Bill Impacts Report. The latest version was published in March this year.
	For medium and large energy users the price impact is £3 per MWh in 2013 rising to £15 per MWh in 2020.
	To address this, Government has in place a £420 million compensation package for energy intensive industries. We have received 64 applications, made decisions on 21, including two steel companies in Wales, and paid over £13 million in compensation. We are awaiting information from the remaining applications but expect to make decisions on them by mid-November.

Employment: Parents

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department is providing for parents in the workplace.

Jo Swinson: The coalition Government has made working parents a central part of our agenda by introducing a radical new system of shared parental leave and extending the right to request flexible working. We are empowering both parents to make decisions on how best to care for their child in the first year of life and enabling all employees to balance their work with their personal responsibilities.

Engineers: Females

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage more women to become engineers.

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage more women to become engineers.

David Willetts: On 30 September 2013, I announced a £400 million boost for English universities to promote science and engineering. A £200 million fund from Government will be matched by universities on at least a one to one basis. This will help more women into these disciplines by requiring universities to provide evidence of a commitment to equality and diversity, such as an Athena Swan award, in order to access government funding.
	Also, in November the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will jointly host Tomorrow's Engineers week, which will challenge negative perceptions and aims to excite young people, specifically girls, about a career in engineering.

Higher Education: Admissions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that students receive transparent information on how applications will be assessed for different courses at different universities.

David Willetts: Universities are independent and autonomous organisations and as such are responsible for their own admissions decisions. The Government has no legal power to interfere in university admissions.
	Following a recent consultation, the independent Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education will shortly publish a revised chapter on admissions in the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. This will make clear what institutions are required to do, based on the key principle that recruitment, selection, and admission policies and procedures should adhere to the principles of fair admission, being transparent, reliable, valid, inclusive and underpinned by appropriate organisational structures and processes.
	The sector led Supporting Professionalism in Admission Programme (SPA) also promotes fair and professional admissions across the HE Admissions sector in the UK. SPA strongly encourages transparency on admissions policy, and particularly the publication of an admissions policy that is clear and comprehensible to applicants and their advisors. In particular, SPA suggests that details of the qualifications, knowledge, qualities and skills applicants should have, and how the institution interprets or assesses merit and potential should either be specified within the official admissions policy or attached to it.
	Information is also available, at course level, on the Unistats website showing the entry qualifications and UCAS tariff scores of previous applicants.

Higher Education: Admissions

Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of university admissions for the current academic year.

David Willetts: UCAS will publish their end of cycle report on accepted applicants in December. Data already published by UCAS show that more students than ever before are getting their first choice at university and there is a higher participation rate among 18-year-olds than ever before. The proportion of 18-year-olds from the most disadvantaged backgrounds applying to university had also increased to the highest level ever recorded.

Minimum Wage: Apprentices

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will undertake an assessment of how many apprentices in the UK are paid no more than the apprentice national minimum wage.

Matthew Hancock: We undertake a regular pay survey on apprenticeships. On 4 October the Government published the 2012 apprenticeship pay survey. This found that the median rate of gross hourly pay received by apprentices in England was £6.09. By age group, median gross hourly pay was £3.00 for under 19-year-olds, £5.37 for 19 to 24-year-olds, and £7.15 for those aged 25 or more.

Royal Mail

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2013, Official Report, column 876W, on Royal Mail, what total amount of interest is being retained by the Government; and whether such interest will be retained in a separate account or the general fund.

Michael Fallon: The interest accrued by 21 October 2013 was approximately £78,000. This will be paid into the Consolidated Fund. The retention of interest accrued on retail applications is in line with that taken in privatisations under previous governments.

Trade Competitiveness

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to improve the competitiveness of British industry.

Michael Fallon: The Government has taken a range of measures through our Plan for Growth, including cutting corporation tax and reducing regulation, in order to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business.
	We have set out our Industrial Strategy, a long-term, whole of Government approach to give business the confidence to invest. We are also implementing recommendations from Lord Heseltine’s report to transform the environment for UK businesses.

Training: Older Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of people aged over 55 years have been assisted in learning new job skills in each of the last three years.

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts and achievements in England by age (including those aged 45-59 and 60 and above) is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/3DA49EDD-EC1F-4F37-8D7A-AC7A0F20E3E8/0/Oct2013_Apprenticeship_Starts.xls
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/60297A67-6111-4D21-B0C1-0FF90B108012/0/June2013_Apprenticeship_Achievements revised.xls
	We do not produce figures on the numbers aged 55 and over.

EDUCATION

Education Endowment Foundation

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many times Ministers in his Department have met the Education Endowment Foundation since May 2010.

David Laws: The Department publishes quarterly reports on the gov.uk website, which detail meetings between Department for Education Ministers and external organisations. This includes meetings with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). The reports can be accessed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-ministers-quarterly-returns

GCSE

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2013, Official Report, columns 746-7W, on GCSE, what those figures are for (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11.

David Laws: The following table provides information as requested for the percentage of Pakistani pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs(1) for pupils(2, 3 )in London and England (excluding London) in 2009/10 and 2010/11(4). Coverage is for all state-funded schools (including academies and city technology colleges) in England.
	
		
			   Pakistani All pupils(5) 
			   Number of eligible pupils(2) Percentage achieving 5+A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs(1) Number of eligible pupils(2) Percentage achieving 5+A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs(1) 
			 2010/11 London 2,782 62.2 74,229 61.9 
			  England (excluding London) 13,566 50.9 490,634 57.8 
			       
			 2009/10 London 2,717 60.8 74,253 58.0 
			  England (excluding London) 13,452 47.5 501,717 54.9 
			 (1) From 2009/10 iGCSEs, accredited at time of publication, have been counted as GCSE equivalents and also as English and mathematics GCSEs. (2) Pupils at the end of Key Stage 4, in the academic year. (3) The figures in this table do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (4 )Figures are based on final data. (5) Includes pupils of any other ethnic group, also those pupils for whom ethnicity was not obtained, refused, or could not be determined. Source: National Pupil Database

Schools: Admissions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools made applications to the Education Funding Agency fund for enabling popular schools to expand to meet parental demand in the last 12 months; and how many such applications were approved.

David Laws: The Education Funding Agency funds the physical expansion of academies to meet popular demand through the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund. This is a competitive process. Since June 2012, 518 academies have applied for expansion projects, of which 142 have been approved.

Young Offenders: Employment and Training

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many young people leaving custody have taken part in the Youth Contract since February 2013;
	(2)  how many young people leaving custody since February 2013 have been eligible for entry into the Youth Contract.

Matthew Hancock: The Government do not collect data on the number of young people leaving custody who are eligible for entry to, or who take part in, the different elements of the Youth Contract.
	There is, however, one exception to this. The programme of additional support aimed at 16 to 17-year-olds was previously open only to young people not in education, employment or training and who have no GCSEs at grades A*-C. From February 2013, the Government extended eligibility for this programme to include young offenders who are not in education, employment and training and who have one or more GCSEs at grades A*-C. We are collecting data on numbers benefitting from this extension of the eligibility and, since February 2013, 139 young offenders with one or more GCSEs at grades A*-C have enrolled on this part of the Youth Contract programme.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

House of Commons Galleries

Luciana Berger: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, on how many sitting days the seating areas in front of the security screen in the (a) Special Gallery East and (b) Special Gallery West have been closed this calendar year.

John Thurso: The front of screen seats in the House of Commons Gallery have not been closed on any day this year, with the exception of the Syria debate during the September recall when the West side was closed for security reasons. The East side remained open for Peers.

Parliamentary Tours

Luciana Berger: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2013, Official Report, column 323W, on Parliament: visits, how much has been paid to Ticketmaster for standard tickets (a) bought online and (b) collected at the box office to date.

John Thurso: Charges of £174,000 (net of VAT) were paid to Ticketmaster for tickets sold via Ticketmaster and through the Ticket Office between 1 April and 30 September 2013. Total ticket revenue to the two Houses for the same period was £1,318,000 (net of VAT and charges). Splits of charges between ticket types and collection methods, and figures for previous years, are not readily available. Approximately 66% of all ticket sales are made via Ticketmaster.
	Visitor Services are a shared service with the House of Lords and as such revenue and costs are shared.

WALES

Armed Forces

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he has taken to meet his objective in the Wales Office Business Plan of acting as a champion of armed forces in Wales.

David Jones: The Wales Office takes every opportunity to promote the work of the armed forces in Wales and to act as a Champion for our Service Personnel.
	I have regular bilaterals with Brigadier Napier the head of the Army in Wales. In addition, I regularly meet with armed forces personnel throughout Wales, for example, I will be attending and speaking at the Royal Welsh Regimental Museum Trusts in Brecon; I have visited Search and Rescue Teams and Service Families at RAF Valley; and held an event to mark HMS St Albans visit to Wales.
	Wales Office Ministers are proud to mark the hard and dedicated work of the Armed Forces in Wales, and always attend the Armed Forces Day Celebrations. In November, I will represent Wales at the Cenotaph and my ministerial team will attend official Remembrance Day Services to remember those who have served their country.
	The Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb), is a member of the Armed Forces Covenant Cabinet Sub-Committee and I was delighted when the Vale of Glamorgan was the first local authority in Wales to sign the covenant. To mark the occasion the Minister visited the Contact One Vale Centre as well as a Community Covenant Play Scheme to see the excellent work that is happening in Wales.

Buildings

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether the Wales Office move to Caspian Point was completed within budget; and what the total cost of this move was.

Stephen Crabb: Yes.
	The lease at Discovery House was for a term of 10 years commencing in March 2003 and due to expire in March 2013.
	In March 2012, the Wales Office, following representations from the Welsh Government and the landlord, agreed to early termination of its lease in order to make way for an inward investor. As a consequence, the Wales Office—with the approval of the Cabinet Office's Government Property Unit (GPU)—agreed to exit the lease early and sign a new lease at Caspian Point. The move was completed in August 2012.
	The gross cost of the move to Caspian Point (utilising a Welsh Government call-off-contract) was £564,971, broken down as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Contractor Costs 297,550 
			 Fixture and Fittings 157,578 
			 Legal Costs 41,007 
			 Relocation costs (including IT equipment) 68,836 
			 Total 564,971 
		
	
	However, the Department as a consequence of its relocation in August 2012, estimates efficiency savings of £302,285 over the 10 year term of the new lease, resulting in an estimated net cost to the Department of £262,686.

Devolution

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2013, Official Report, column 464W, on Devolution, what progress has been made towards the publication of the draft Wales Bill.

David Jones: We have made good progress in preparing the draft Wales Bill and intend to publish it for pre-legislative scrutiny later in the year.

Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2013, Official Report, columns 425-26W, on Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measures 2011, parliamentary question 170435, what discussions or correspondence he has had with (a) Carl Sargeant and (b) John Griffiths AM on the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011.

David Jones: I have not had any discussions with the Welsh Government on this matter. The measure was brought forward by an Assembly Member, and I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 14 October 2013, Official Report, column 425W.

Exports

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the role devolution has played in increasing exports from Wales.

David Jones: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), has affirmed our target of increasing the value of UK exports to £1 trillion by 2020. It is vital that both the UK Government and the Welsh Government work together to achieve this, and I encourage all businesses looking to export to take full advantage of the services available through UK Trade & Investment to gain access to international markets.
	The eighth report from the Welsh Affairs Select Committee "Inward Investment in Wales" made a number of important recommendations for the Welsh Government to consider how
	“Wales's visibility in the global market place”
	has been reduced as a consequence of the abolition of the Welsh Development Agency (WDA), recognising that it
	“remains one of the most recognisable of all Welsh brands”
	and
	“how existing recognition of the WDA brand can be used to improve and increase Wales's global identity.”

Official Engagements

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many official engagements he has held in the Wales Office in the last three months.

David Jones: The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Wales Office publishes on a quarterly basis our transparency returns of ministerial activity with a wide range of stakeholders.

Politics and Government

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had in the last six months with Cabinet Ministers in the Welsh Government.

David Jones: Over the past six months discussions with Welsh Government Ministers have taken place on a regular basis.

Public Expenditure

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what progress he has made on implementing the objectives of the Wales Office Business Plan in the last three months;
	(2)  which deadline for the objectives in the Wales Office Business Plan he expects to meet.

David Jones: My priority is to promote economic growth and boost enterprise in Wales, the first objective in the Wales Office Business Plan. In recent months I have worked to bring a new prison to North Wales, which will boost the local economy by £28 million a year; announced during my visit to Toulouse a second round of bidding for National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme funding—a scheme that will help to create or retain 1,200 jobs UK-wide in the aerospace supply chain; worked with others to identify and secure infrastructure investment, particularly to upgrade the M4; continued to promote UK Government support for super fast broadband and for Cardiff and Newport to become super-connected cities; and taken forward work on the business cases for the electrification of the North Wales Coast railway line and the link between Wrexham and Bidston.

Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what meetings he has held with third party campaigning groups regarding the effect of the provisions of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act.

David Jones: None.

DEFENCE

Contractorisation

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice his Department has (a) sought and (b) received on the GoCo model from (i) Deloitte, (ii) PwC, (iii) Ernst & Young and (iv) KPMG; and if he will place a copy of any such advice in the Library. [R]

Philip Dunne: The advice that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has sought and received on the GOCO model, from the companies of interest is as follows:
	Deloitte took part in the first part of our Soft Market Testing in 2012, the purpose of which was to assess whether the private sector had the appetite and capacity to undertake such reform.
	PwC were one of a range of companies involved in the final part of our Soft Market Testing in March 2013, before the commercial process began. This exercise, which included suppliers and potential bidders, sought feedback on draft documents for use during the commercial negotiations.
	The MOD has not sought or received advice from Ernst and Young on the GOCO or DE&S+ models.
	KPMG are acting as financial advisors to the Materiel Strategy programme, providing assistance and advice to both the GOCO and DE&S+ teams. This advice is commercially sensitive.

Syria

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make representations to Clarion Events Limited on the attendance of suppliers to the Syrian government at the recent Defence and Security Equipment international arms exhibition.

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition is a commercial event organised by the company Clarion Events. The attendance of UK and overseas companies at DSEI 2013 was a matter for the exhibition organisers, Clarion Events. Shortly before the exhibition opened, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Export Control Organisation agreed a memorandum of understanding with Clarion which set out their role and responsibilities, and those of exhibitor companies in respect of export and trade control legislation.

TREASURY

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether his Department has revised its estimates first made in the 2013-14 Budget Red Book for the collection of land tax stamp duty;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the collection of land tax stamp duty in the 2013-14 financial year.

David Gauke: Forecasts of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) revenue are produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and published in Table 4.7 of their “Economic and Fiscal Outlook” (EFO). The latest forecasts were published in March 2013 and can be found in the table or by following the link.
	
		
			 Stamp duty land tax £ billion 
			 2013-14 7.7 
			 2014-15 8.4 
			 2015-16 9.3 
			 2016-17 10.5 
			 2017-18 11.7 
		
	
	http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2013/
	The OBR will release revised estimates of expected SDLT revenue for 2013-14 as part of their next EFO, due to be published alongside the autumn statement on 4 December 2013.

VAT: Energy

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the revenue foregone by the Exchequer of a zero per cent rate of VAT on domestic gas and electricity;
	(2)  what criteria are used to determine which rate of VAT applies to particular items or services;
	(3)  for what reason domestic gas and electricity bills are subject to a five per cent rate of VAT;
	(4)  if he will make it his policy to apply a zero per cent rate of VAT to domestic gas and electricity;
	(5)  what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on repatriating control of VAT rates from the EU.

David Gauke: The application of VAT in the EU, including rates and flexibilities afforded to member states in this regard, is governed by EU law.
	A reduced rate of VAT of 5% currently applies to domestic fuel and power. This has been in place since 1997 and is the lowest rate possible under EU law. The existing law means that Government cannot introduce a new zero rate, nor can we unilaterally extend the scope of our existing zero rates as this would require a change to EU VAT legislation. Any change to legislation would require a proposal from the European Commission and the unanimous agreement of all 28 member states.
	Given the current reduced rate of VAT of 5% which applies to domestic fuel and power is the lowest rate possible under EU law, no assessment has been made of the cost to the Exchequer of a zero per cent rate of VAT on domestic gas and electricity.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what criteria were used to decide the amount of additional funding each hospital trust will receive to support the work of accident and emergency departments; what consideration was given to health inequalities when allocating such funding; for what reasons Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital Trust received no additional funding to support the work of its accident and emergency departments; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what funding his Department is giving to ambulance trusts to ease pressure on accident and emergency departments.

Jane Ellison: Information on funding for ambulance trusts to ease pressure on accident and emergency (A&E) departments is not held. It is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to commission services to meet local needs. The funding that CCGs allocate for provision of services is not broken down by service or policy area.
	Decisions on which high risk trusts to concentrate the resources for the upcoming winter were made jointly by NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA). They were made on the basis of a number of factors including risk to delivery of the A&E standard, challenging local circumstances and the needs of local populations. This gave a picture of those facing the greatest compound risk and identified the trusts thought most likely to benefit most from additional funding.
	Where trusts, such as Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital Trust, have not been identified to receive a share of these winter monies it is because NHS England, Monitor and NHS TDA believe there are other organisations that face greater risks and are most likely to benefit from the additional funding. Nonetheless we are not complacent; any areas that did not receive funding will receive the constant support of NHS England, NHS TDA and Monitor to make some of the lower-cost changes that can still make big improvements.
	Each of the 143 urgent care working groups have presented specific plans for initiatives to alleviate pressures on local A&E departments, and NHS England, Monitor and the NHS TDA are working with hospitals across the whole country, including Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals, to ensure that emergency services are ready for winter.

Ambulance Services

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time of each English NHS ambulance trust has been in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: The information is not collected in the format requested. Information is collected centrally on the average (median) time to treatment for category A calls at individual ambulance trust level. Treatment is defined as the arrival of a health professional dispatched by the ambulance service for immediately life-threatening calls. Category A calls are divided into Red 1, immediately life threatening, and Red 2, serious but less immediately time critical; however average response times are only collected at the level of category A. It is not statistically correct to combine medians to get an annual position.
	The following tables show the average time to treatment for category A calls at each English NHS ambulance trust in each month since data were first collected in 2011-12.
	Information on the average response times for category C calls in not collected centrally.
	
		
			 Median time to treatment for Category A calls—Split byambulance service 
			 Minutes and seconds 
			  North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust 
			 2011       
			 April 5.10 4.09 5.22 5.38 5.34 4.36 
		
	
	
		
			 May 5.05 4.59 5.14 5.48 5.32 4.38 
			 June 5.08 5.09 5.13 6.01 5.45 4.38 
			 July 5.15 4.58 5.19 5.57 5.32 4.37 
			 August 5.16 4.41 5.13 6.02 5.34 4.28 
			 September 5.29 4.49 5.09 6.02 5.38 4.35 
			 October 5.28 4.52 5.20 6.07 5.35 4.31 
			 November 5.11 4.52 5.09 5.56 5.31 4.45 
			 December 5.30 5.01 5.23 6.12 5.33 4.55 
			        
			 2012       
			 January 5.17 4.49 5.00 5.54 5.20 4.45 
			 February 5.39 5.03 5.18 6.17 5.47 4.58 
			 March 5.44 5.00 5.04 5.46 5.46 4.39 
			 April 5.33 5.35 4.56 5.53 5.28 4.45 
			 May 5.41 5.40 5.00 5.58 5.35 4.30 
			 June 5.59 5.08 5.04 6.08 5.54 4.51 
			 July 6.07 5.07 5.20 6.15 5.56 4.39 
			 August 5.56 5.12 5.19 6.10 6.02 4.33 
			 September 5.47 5.19 5.28 6.16 6.03 5.06 
			 October 5.59 5.22 5.30 6.18 5.50 5.00 
			 November 6.01 5.26 5.28 6.38 5.48 4.54 
			 December 6.42 5.39 6.02 7.09 6.10 5.26 
			        
			 2013       
			 January 6.11 5.27 5.39 6.35 5.51 5.13 
			 February 5.39 5.33 5.40 6.24 6.12 5.25 
			 March 5.40 5.33 5.28 6.47 6.34 5.25 
			 April 5.45 5.20 5.18 6.26 6.12 6.13 
			 May 5.49 5.11 5.14 6.16 5.51 6.07 
			 June 5.42 5.06 5.17 6.19 5.50 6.17 
			 July 5.53 5.21 5.34 6.36 6.16 6.36 
			 August 5.48 5.14 5.35 6.40 6.06 6.00 
		
	
	
		
			 Minutes and seconds 
			  London Ambulance Service NHS Trust South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Isle of Wight NHS Trust South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust 
			 2011       
			 April 5.36 5.51 3.00 5.38 5.06 5.36 
			 May 5.42 5.54 4.00 5.37 5.06 5.24 
			 June 5.54 5.59 4.00 5.32 5.18 5.30 
			 July 5.36 5.54 7.00 5.22 5.06 5.24 
			 August 5.24 5.53 6.00 5.25 5.06 5.24 
			 September 5.48 6.04 5.36 5.31 5.12 5.30 
			 October 5.36 6.03 6.17 5.23 5.18 5.29 
			 November 5.30 6.05 6.06 5.10 5.06 5.28 
			 December 5.48 6.29 6.22 5.21 5.12 5.36 
			        
			 2012       
			 January 5.18 6.05 6.16 5.09 5.18 5.24 
			 February 5.42 6.22 5.23 5.37 5.24 5.40 
			 March 5.36 6.50 5.30 5.28 5.24 5.28 
			 April 5.36 5.58 6.06 5.20 5.18 5.30 
			 May 5.54 6.06 6.05 5.24 5.18 5.24 
			 June 5.48 6.01 6.16 5.48 5.18 5.24 
			 July 5.42 6.24 6.05 5.36 5.36 5.36 
			 August 5.24 6.05 6.13 5.31 5.24 5.30 
			 September 6.06 5.49 6.13 5.46 5.42 5.36 
			 October 6.00 6.01 6.09 5.38 5.42 5.42 
		
	
	
		
			 November 6.06 5.59 6.06 5,29 5.36 5.48 
			 December 6.36 6.28 6.11 5.53 5.48 5.54 
			        
			 2013       
			 January 5.30 5.57 6.12 5.47 5.42 5.54 
			 February 5.36 5.59 6.01 5.48 5.36 — 
			 March 5.36 6.08 6.00 6.06 6.00 — 
			 April 5.52 5.53 5.28 5.54 5.48 — 
			 May 5.42 5.41 5.33 5.41 5.42 — 
			 June 5.54 5.47 5.25 5.46 5.48 — 
			 July 6.06 6.21 5.35 5.58 6.06 — 
			 August 6.00 5.57 5.23 5.51 5.54 — 
			 Note: In February 2013 Great Western merged with South Western. Source: Ambulance Quality Indicators, NHS England.

Ambulance Services

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the proportion of requests for ambulance attendance made by (a) police officers and (b) members of the public which were not fulfilled due to non-availability of vehicles in the last year;
	(2)  how many emergency response vehicles were available to each English ambulance service trust in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013.

Jane Ellison: Information about how many emergency response vehicles were available to each English ambulance service trust in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 is not held centrally. Decision making regarding the number of emergency response vehicles is an operational issue and is therefore a matter for the local ambulance trust.
	No assessment has been made of the proportion of requests for ambulance attendance made by police officers and members of the public which were not fulfilled due to non-availability of vehicles in the last year.

Blood: Contamination

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people infected by contaminated blood through NHS blood transfusions have since died.

Jane Ellison: Approximately 100 people were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United Kingdom as a result of treatment with NHS blood transfusions, before a screening test for donated blood became available in 1985. As at 30 September 2013, 17 are known to be alive and registered with MFET Ltd, which makes payments in respect of infection with HIV, which implies that around 83% have died.
	Approximately, a further 1,200 people were infected with HIV as a result of treatment for inherited bleeding disorders, primarily haemophilia, with plasma-derived clotting factor products, before safer products became available in 1985. As at 30 September 2013, 353 are known to be alive and registered with MFET Ltd, which implies that around 71% have died.
	In relation to hepatitis C, the Government's 2010 'Review of the Support Available to Individuals infected with hepatitis C and/or HIV by NHS-supplied blood transfusions or blood products and their dependants' estimated that approximately 28,000 individuals were infected in the UK as a result of NHS blood transfusions before a screening test for donated blood became available in 1991. A copy of the report has already been placed in the Library. As at 30 September 2013, 2,442 of those individuals had received at least one payment from the Skipton Fund Ltd in respect of chronic infection with hepatitis C. Of these individuals, the Skipton Fund has been notified of 320 deaths, which represents approximately 13% of the total number of individuals who have received at least one payment.
	The UK Haemophilia Centres Doctors' Organisation estimated in 2011 that a further 4,689 people with inherited bleeding disorders were exposed to hepatitis C through treatment with NHS supplied plasma-derived clotting factor products, before safer products became available in 1985. As at 30 September 2013, 2,648 of those individuals had received at least one payment from the Skipton Fund Ltd in respect of chronic infection with hepatitis C. Of these individuals, the Skipton Fund has been notified of 665 deaths, which represents approximately 25% of the total number of individuals who have received at least one payment.
	However, the Skipton Fund does not routinely receive death notifications in respect of those who do not receive annual payments. There is no other information on those who may be infected by hepatitis C as a result of NHS-supplied blood or blood products held centrally, from which the Department can make a more accurate estimate.

Cancer: Drugs

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the management of the Cancer Drugs Fund budget and any projected overspend;
	(2)  what estimate NHS England has made of expenditure on the Cancer Drugs Fund in 2013-14;
	(3)  what steps NHS England takes to assist clinicians to make the most cost-effective use of the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Norman Lamb: Management of the Cancer Drugs Fund is a matter for NHS England. Ministers have not had any discussions with NHS England on the management of the fund but departmental officials have regular discussions with NHS England about the Cancer Drugs Fund, including the financial position.
	NHS England collects expenditure information for the Cancer Drugs Fund on a monthly basis from its regional area teams and we are advised that forecasting arrangements are also in place. NHS England is considering future publication arrangements for expenditure information.
	The Cancer Drugs Fund is clinically led. NHS England has taken a number of steps to help clinicians make best use of the fund, including:
	publishing national Standard Operating Procedures for the Fund, which explain how drug/indication combinations are assessed for inclusion in the fund, taking into account clinical and cost-effectiveness;
	developing a National Cancer Drugs Fund list of drugs and indications that will be routinely funded; and
	developing arrangements for dealing with individual funding requests for drugs not included on the national list.

Electronic Cigarettes

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the safety of e-cigarettes; what assessment he has made of whether e-cigarettes reduce usage of conventional cigarettes; and what steps he is taking to support smokers who have decreased their dependence on conventional cigarettes by using e-cigarettes.

Jane Ellison: The United Kingdom Government supports a requirement to licence nicotine containing products (NCPs) as medicines through European Union legislation and will continue to make the case for this position during the further negotiations on the draft Tobacco Products Directive. This is intended to ensure that products are available that meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy to help users cut down their smoking and to quit and to reduce the harms of smoking to smokers and those around them.
	During the period of research that informed the Government's decision, the consistent evidence from a variety of sources was that most electronic cigarette users use the products to stop smoking or as partial replacement to reduce harm associated with smoking. There is some evidence from surveys that electronic cigarette users are having success in achieving their goals with many current electronic cigarette users being ex-smokers.
	Unlicensed electronic cigarettes are not risk free. Known and reported risks include acute effects on lung function, possible pneumonia, and other risks related to poor product quality. These products on the market have not been shown to meet standards of safety and efficacy required of medicines regulation. Products tested had varying amounts of nicotine that usually did not match the amount labelled. Regulating them as medicinal products would mean that accurate information can be provided to health care professionals and the public about their quality and effectiveness. There is insufficient evidence currently to recommend the use of unlicensed products. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence tobacco harm reduction public health guidance only recommends the use of licensed nicotine replacement therapy (for example gums, patches), and recognises that little is known about the effectiveness, quality and safety of unlicensed NCPs.

Fertility

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will convene an expert group on commissioning fertility treatment, for the purposes of encouraging adherence to the recommendations put forward by the NICE in its guidelines on fertility.

Jane Ellison: We expect that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence fertility guidelines.
	NHS England has advised that it does not currently have, nor plan to have, an expert group on commissioning fertility treatment.

General Practitioners: Barrow in Furness

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of GP practices in Barrow and Furness constituency offered appointments (a) before 9am, (b) after 5pm and (c) at weekends in each of the last three years.

Norman Lamb: The information requested is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to approach the NHS England Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear area team, which might hold the relevant information.

Health Services: Worcestershire

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress he has made on the reconfiguration of health services in Worcestershire; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The reconfiguration of local health services is a matter for the local national health service. Commissioners in Worcestershire are working with local providers and stakeholders to develop proposals for the future provision of acute services across the county, which will be subject to public consultation.

NHS: Innovation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to re-establish the Innovations Commissioning Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: From April 2013, NHS England has had responsibility for the commissioning of specialised services.
	NHS England has advised that the scale of this task —to bring together regional commissioning into a single, nationally consistent operating model for specialised services commissioning—has resulted in a level of unplanned expenditure. To manage this unplanned expenditure both in year and into the future, NHS England has needed to concentrate its efforts on their core commissioning requirements. The Specialised Services Commissioning Innovation Fund announced by NHS England in August 2013, sits outside the core requirements and in October NHS England reluctantly took the decision to suspend it. NHS England has advised that it remains committed to both leading and facilitating the uptake and spread of innovation and will seek ways to reinstate the fund in future years.

Organs: Donors

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reported cases there are each year of potential organ donors failing to donate organs due to an unavailability of (a) suitable beds and (b) specialist nurses.

Jane Ellison: NHS Blood and Transplant's (NHSBT) national Potential Donor Audit (PDA) records the number of potential solid organ donors in the United Kingdom and documents the reasons for donation not proceeding. NHSBT have no recorded instances of a solid organ donation not proceeding due to pressure in intensive care unit (ICU) beds after the potential donor has been referred to the Organ Donation Services team and consent has been obtained.
	The following table shows the number of patients meeting the referral criteria for solid organ donation who were not referred to the Organ Donation Services Team due to pressure on ICU beds.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of patients 
			 2010-11 10 
			 2011-12 2 
			 2012-13 6 
			 Notes: 1. All data is as recorded on NHSBT’s Potential Donor Audit (PDA) as at 10 October 2013. 2. During the above time period, the PDA audited all patient deaths in emergency departments and critical care units in the UK, except cardiothoracic ICUs. Patients aged <=75 only. Source: NHSBT 
		
	
	There were a further three cases recorded where pressure on ICU beds was the reason for not testing for death by Neurological Criteria and as a consequence were not referred to the Organ Donation Services Team (one in 2010-11 and two in 2011-12).
	Information on the number of potential donors referred to the Organ. Donation Services Team and where the family were not approached for consent due to the pressure on intensive care beds has only been collected since 1 April 2013. During the first six months there have been seven potential cases.
	There are no recorded instances where a donation could not proceed due to a specialist nurse not being available.

School Milk

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the outcome of the nursery milk scheme consultation will be announced.

Daniel Poulter: The Department is conducting a comprehensive analysis of all the responses to the Nursery Milk consultation, the impact assessment and the accompanying survey of child care providers. A Government response on the future operation of the Nursery Milk Scheme will be made after full consideration is given to these and other relevant information.

Telemedicine

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to calculate the cost-effectiveness of increased use of telehealth for people with long-term conditions;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of (a) the effect of telehealth on the number of people presenting at accident and emergency departments and (b) the financial implications of wider use of telehealth within the NHS;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the potential long term benefits of wider use of telehealth within the NHS;
	(4)  what recent meetings he has had with companies on innovations in telehealth;
	(5)  what steps his Department is taking to incentivise greater innovation in the telehealth industry.

Norman Lamb: The Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) programme, launched in 2008, was funded and run by the Department and was the largest randomised control trial in the world of telecare and telehealth in the world. This WSD evaluated the effects of telehealth service utilisation on 6,191 patients in 238 general practitioner practices across three sites in Newham, Kent and Cornwall. It was set up to look at cost effectiveness, clinical effectiveness, organisational issues, effect on carers and workforce issues.
	A paper from the London School of Economics (LSE) on cost effectiveness of telehealth in the WSD study, published in the British Medical Journal on 22 March 2013 found that it was delivered at high cost. The LSE identified a quality-adjusted life year (QALY) figure of £90,000 per patient which is there times the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended level. The LSE paper can be found at:
	www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f1035
	We recognise that, when delivered as an add-on to existing services at low volume use and at a high unit price, telehealth and telecare is not cost effective. This is why the 3millionlives initiative was developed. This initiative aims to build a different approach to delivery based on a new business model that will help to make telehealth both cost and clinically effective. WSD clearly shows that using telehealth as an integral part of health and care services can help to reduce hospital admissions. The three WSD sites using telehealth experienced:
	a 15% reduction in A&E visits;
	a 20% reduction in emergency admissions;
	a 14% reduction in elective admissions;
	a 14% reduction in bed days;
	an 8% reduction in tariff costs; and
	a 45% reduction in mortality rates.
	Implemented effectively as part of a whole system redesign of care, telehealth and telecare has long-term benefits such as alleviating pressure on long-term NHS costs and improve people's quality of life through better self-care in the home setting.
	The Department is working closely with the NHS, social care and other stakeholders to simplify procurement and commissioning processes for telehealth and telecare services. 3millionlives aims to work in collaboration with industry, the NHS, social care and professional partners to improve the lives of three million people over the next five years through the introduction of telehealth and telecare technologies into redesigned clinical pathways.
	Since 1 January 2013 the following meetings have taken place between Ministers of the Department and companies with an interest in telehealth:
	on 4 June the Under-Secretary of State, the right hon. and noble Lord, Earl Howe, met with representatives from O2 Health;
	on 18 June the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), met with representatives of Tunstall Healthcare; and
	on 24 October I held a round table with a number of companies with an interest in telehealth, telecare and assistive technologies.
	Attendees at the roundtable event included: 2020Health; British Telecom, British Healthcare Industries; Tunstall Healthcare, Health Fabric Ltd, Medvivo Group, Computer Services Corporation; the Advanced Digital Institute; the Florence Programme; the Telecare Services Association; and Intellect. I also attended an All Party Parliamentary Group on Telehealth on 25 June 2013.

TRANSPORT

A27

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to hold the Highways Agency to account for the time taken to repair pedestrian traffic lights across the A27 highway at Arundel over the last three months.

Robert Goodwill: The Highways Agency recognises that there has been a delay in carrying out a repair to the pedestrian traffic lights on the A27 at Arundel. This is due to problems with the power supply. The agency has been actively pursuing the issues with their service provider for this route and I have asked the agency to treat the matter as a high priority.

A417

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents have occurred between Nettleton Bottom and the bottom of Crickley Hill in the last 10 years.

Robert Goodwill: The number of reported personal injury road accidents on the A417 between Nettleton Bottom (Ordnance Survey grid reference 394866, 213420) and the bottom of Crickley Hill (Ordnance Survey grid reference 392361, 215774) in each of the last 10 years are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of reported personal injury accidents by severity on the A417 between Nettleton Bottom and bottom of Crickley Hill: 2003-12 
			  Fatal Serious Slight Total Accidents 
			 2003 0 2 11 13 
			 2004 0 3 11 14 
			 2005 1 1 12 14 
			 2006 0 2 8 10 
			 2007 0 0 13 13 
			 2008 1 0 4 5 
			 2009 0 1 6 7 
			 2010 1 1 13 15 
			 2011 1 0 7 8 
			 2012 0 1 13 14 
		
	
	Data for 2013 will be available July 2014. The Department does not collect information on damage only accidents.

Electric Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from or on behalf of Guide Dogs on the safety of quiet hybrid and electric vehicles; what response he has given; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The Ministers have received correspondence from Guide Dogs, other organisations and individuals asking for the mandatory fitment of added sound devices to electric and hybrid electric vehicles in order to improve the safety of pedestrians.
	The former Under-Secretary of State for Transport met with Guide Dogs and the Royal National Institute for the Blind to discuss this subject. One of my ministerial colleagues will be having further discussions on these issues with them in due course.
	The Government is keenly interested in the safety of all road users, and is continuing to examine the evidence in this area.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he plans to ensure that the knowledge, skills and expertise developed during the building of Crossrail will feed into future construction plans regarding High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: Construction of Phase 1 of HS2 is not expected to commence until 2017. HS2 will provide significant opportunities for businesses currently involved in the construction of Crossrail to deploy their expertise on this project. Skills developed at facilities such as the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy established for Crossrail will be invaluable in supporting the needs of HS2.

Humber Bridge

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Humber Bridge Board on the need to avoid traffic delays on and around the bridge; and when he next intends to meet the Board.

Robert Goodwill: Recently, traffic delays have been experienced on the Humber Bridge, due to necessary work to renew the toll plaza infrastructure and toll collection system. These works are planned to be substantially completed by February 2014, and free-flow tolling by smart tag will be introduced later in 2014. The Humber Bridge Board, comprising the four Humber area local authorities, is responsible for operating the bridge, and has taken action to reduce the delays. I do not plan to meet the Board on this matter.

Large Goods Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the Campaign for Better Transport on demonstrations of longer semi-trailers for articulated goods vehicles and risks to vulnerable road users; what response he has given; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The Secretary of State for Transport has recently received a letter and report from Campaign for Better Transport following their attendance at a demonstration of a longer semi-trailer in June. The report has made very broad assumptions based on a single demonstration of a longer semi-trailer that was not representative.
	The report has called for longer semi-trailers to be allowed only on designated local authority roads and we anticipate responding to the report's authors shortly.
	The Government will continue to monitor the trial closely and will report in full when the trial concludes at which point Ministers will decide whether these vehicles will be allowed permanently on UK roads.

Motor Vehicles: Electronic Equipment

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had concerning the European Union proposal for legislation requiring the future fitment of an electronic in-vehicle system that automatically alerts the emergency services when an accident occurs; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has not had any discussions on this subject.
	Officials from the Department for Transport have engaged in discussions with European Commission officials on a number of occasions.
	The Government supports in principle any action that would assist in reducing the number of collisions, deaths and serious injuries.
	The UK has some of the safest roads in the world and technology has an important role to play in this, but it is important that each initiative is carefully considered on its merits.
	The results of independent research by TRL Ltd in 2010 showed that the benefits of making eCall mandatory in all new cars will not justify the cost of implementing it in the UK. The Government has therefore decided that it would not be appropriate for the UK to support mandatory installation of eCall at this stage. The published project report (PPR470) can be found at:
	www.trl.co.uk

Parking

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department has issued to all local authorities on constructing and operating car parking bays of sufficient size to accommodate the average family motor vehicle.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport (DFT) gives advice to local authorities on the design of on-street parking bays in Chapter 5 of the Traffic Signs Manual. The design and size of such bays are prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-traffic-signs-regulations-and-general-directions-tsrgd-2002
	The DFT also provides advice on the provision of Blue Badge disabled parking bays in its Inclusive Mobility document.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility
	DFT only has a role in setting the limits of the sizes of parking bays on the public highway. The design and size of parking bays in council or private car parks, such as for example supermarkets, are not regulated by the DFT.

Public Footpaths

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what funding his Department has made available to support new (a) cycle paths, (b) bridleways and (c) footpaths in the current financial year;
	(2)  how much funding his Department made available to support new footpaths in the council areas of (a) East Cambridgeshire and (b) England in each of the last 30 years;
	(3)  how much funding his Department made available to support new cycle paths in the council areas of (a) Cambridge City, (b) East Cambridgeshire and (c) England in each of the last 30 years.

Robert Goodwill: The Department does not make funding available specifically to support cycle paths, bridleways and footpaths. The provision of cycling facilities is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. We provide funding through the Integrated Transport block to local authorities to use for small transport improvement schemes, including walking and cycling schemes.
	However, since 2004 the Department has made a number of funding streams available to local authorities that could have been used for cycle paths, bridleways and footpaths, as well a range of other interventions to support cycling. These are the “Sustainable Travel Towns”; “Cycling Cities and Towns” programme; “Links to Schools”; the “Local Sustainable Transport Fund”; the “Linking Places Fund”; the “Cycle Safety Fund”, and the “Cycle City Ambition” grants.
	The capital allocations made to Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City through these funds were/are:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Cycling Cities and Towns programme 1.53 
			 Links to Schools 0.17 
			 Local Sustainable Transport Fund 2.38 
			 Linking Places Fund 1.00 
			 Cycle Safety Fund 1.19 
			 Cycle City Ambition grants 4.08 
		
	
	The Department does not hold data for the amounts within these schemes that were specifically spent on cycle paths, bridleways and footpaths. The Department also does not hold data on funding streams over a longer time period.

Railways: Tickets

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the planned flexible ticket trial will begin.

Stephen Hammond: It is currently envisaged that the competition to run the flexible ticketing trial will take place in early 2014 and the necessary infrastructure to allow the trial to commence should be in place by early 2015. The exact details of the trial, including its start date and duration, remain subject to negotiation with train companies and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.

Rescue Services: Belfast

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Belfast, was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in September 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Belfast Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed at below risk assessed levels in September 2013 on 34 occasions out of 60 shifts.
	These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing' where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Belfast MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from Stornoway MRCC and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland, Aberdeen, Liverpool or Holyhead.
	Every effort is made to recruit staff. Recently the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) successfully recruited more coastguards filling 28 vacancies and offering a further 31 jobs to candidates in the most recent round. With this and now that negotiations with the trade union have concluded on the terms and conditions for the new coastguard jobs, the MCA believes that this will help stabilise the current staffing issues.

Rescue Services: Liverpool

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Liverpool, was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in September 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Liverpool Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed at below risk assessed levels in September 2013 on 20 occasions out of 60 shifts.
	These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing' where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Liverpool MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from Holyhead MRCC and dial up links from the MRCCs at Swansea, Milford Haven, Belfast and Stornoway.
	Every effort is made to recruit staff. Recently the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) successfully recruited more coastguards filling 28 vacancies and offering a further 31 jobs to candidates in the most recent round. With this and now that negotiations with the trade union have concluded on the terms and conditions for the new coastguard jobs, the MCA believes that this will help stabilise the current staffing issues.

Rescue Services: Stornoway

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Stornoway, was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in September 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Stornoway Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed at below risk assessed levels in September 2013 on 12 occasions out of 60 shifts.
	These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing' where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Stornoway MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from Belfast MRCC and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland, Aberdeen, Liverpool or Holyhead.

Roads: Accidents

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the number of children injured in road accidents on their way to school in the last year; and what proportion of such children were cycling.

Robert Goodwill: There were 2,227 children aged between five and 16 (inclusive) injured in reported road accidents between 7.30 am and 8.59 am on school days in Great Britain during 2012. Of these, 308 (14%) were pedal cyclists. It is likely that a very large majority of these children were travelling to school at the time of the accident.
	More detailed estimates for accidents involving travelling to and from school including figures for younger children and breakdowns by age and mode of transport can be found in published statistics table RAS30030, at the following link:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239765/ras30030.xls

Roads: Lighting

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the selective switching-off of road lighting at night during poor weather conditions and reduced visibility; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The Department has not issued guidance to local authorities on this matter. It is important that authorities consider the safety, cost and environmental savings before switching off lighting columns, reducing the hours of operation or dimming lighting levels within their areas. It is also the responsibility of each authority to determine whether or not to have highway lighting switched on during the hours of darkness and in poor weather conditions and reduced visibility.

Telephone Services

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what geographic telephone number his Department advertises for use by the general public.

Stephen Hammond: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			 Agency/area Geographic number(s) advertised for use by the general public 
			 Department for Transport centre None 
			 AAIB (Air Accident Investigation Branch) 01252 510300 (Farnborough) General inquiries/switchboard 01252 512299 (Farnborough) Accident reporting line 
			 MAIB (Marine Accident Investigation Branch) 023 8039 5500 (Southampton) Switchboard 023 8023 2527 (Southampton) Emergency/accident line 
			 RAIB(Rail Accident Investigation Branch) 01332 253300 (Derby) Office switchboard 01332 253301 (Derby) Office Fax 01332 253333 (Derby) Incident Reporting Line 01332 253338 (Derby) Incident Reporting Fax 
			 DVL-A (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) 01792 782341 (Swansea) Switchboard 
			 DSA (Driving Standards Agency) 0115 936 6666 (Nottingham) HQ general inquiries 0115 936 6241 (Nottingham) Drink-Drive Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) 0115 936 6547 (Nottingham) For inquiries about motorcycle training 0115 936 6468 (Nottingham) For motorcycle trainers to order new DL196 forms 0115 936 6504 (Nottingham) Pass Plus line 0115 936 6370 (Nottingham) Technical Support Team 0115 936 6283 (Nottingham) For inquiries about DSA's national standards for driving instructors 0115 936 6145 (Nottingham) For inquiries about public consultations 0115 936 6123 (Nottingham) For inquiries about copyrights and intellectual property 0115 936 6051 (Nottingham) To report driving test fraud or illegal driving instructors 0121 556 5570 (Birmingham) For potential and approved driving instructors to monitor CRB checks 
			 HA (Highways Agency) None 
			 MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) 02380 329100 (Southampton) HQ switchboard/general inquiries 
			 VCA (Vehicle Certification Agency) None 
			 VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) None 
		
	
	For information, the Department has the following non geographic inquiries/information lines: DFTc 0300 330 3000, Highways Agency 0300 123 5000, VCA 0300 330 5799 and 0300 330 5797, VOSA 0300 123 9000.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Cold Weather Payments: East Riding

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of people eligible for cold weather payments in East Riding.

Steve Webb: The estimates for the number of people eligible for cold weather payments in each weather station area in the UK will not be available until the end of October. The estimates are produced by a scan of the systems immediately prior to the start of the cold weather payment season, commencing 1 November 2013. The scan is conducted as close as possible to the start of the cold weather season to best represent the most accurate number of eligible customers.
	The postcodes for East Riding are covered by Leconfield, Linton on Ouse and Sheffield weather stations. As the weather station areas are based on the climate of the relevant postcodes, they do not align with any standard regional mapping. When the estimates become available, I will place a copy in the House of Commons Library, showing the regions that overlap with each weather station.

Housing Benefit

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution of the Deputy Prime Minister of 15 October 2013, Official Report, column 584, whether the under-occupancy penalty will be included in the research he has commissioned into the effect of housing benefit changes; what the terms of reference for this research will be; whether a public consultation will be held as part of this research; and when this research is expected to be published.

Esther McVey: A consortium has been commissioned to carry out a two year monitoring of the effects of the removal of the spare room subsidy measure. The research will include effects of the measures on supply issues, impacts in rural areas as well as effects on financial circumstances and vulnerable individuals. The evaluation includes research with claimants, social landlords, local authority staff and voluntary organisations. A public consultation is not being undertaken as part of this research. The evaluation is taking place over a two year period, starting from April 2013, with initial findings available in 2014 and a final report published in late 2015.

Self-employed

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in each region who moved from public sector employment into self-employment in the last financial year.

Esther McVey: Robust information is not available, as Labour Force Survey data on self-employment does not measure reliably whether individuals were previously working in the public or private sector.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made by his Department of the number of former EU country migrants resident in the Brightside and Hillsborough constituency who are of working age but are currently unemployed and receiving jobseeker's allowance or employment and support allowance.

Esther McVey: We do not have this information. Although the Department for Work and Pensions checks the nationality and immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud, this information is not recorded as part of the benefit payment administrative systems.
	The Government is looking at ways to record nationality and immigration status of migrants who make a claim to universal credit so that we have more robust management information about our claimants.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many clients have asked for their work capability assessments to be audio taped; and what proportion of such requests were (a) agreed to and (b) denied in the most recent period for which data is available.

Michael Penning: Between September 2011 and September 2013 the number of applicants for employment and support allowance who requested an audio recorded work capability assessment was 4,109, 99.8% of these were agreed to.
	To date nine requests have been turned down to audio record a work capability assessment. This represents 0.2% of the total number of requests made.

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will estimate the number of people claiming universal credit who would otherwise be included on the Claimant Count in (a) total and (b) each month since May 2013;
	(2)  if he will estimate the number of people claiming universal credit who would otherwise be included on the Claimant Count by constituency;
	(3)  when he expects to publish the number of universal credit claimants in each month since May 2013;
	(4)  when the number of universal credit claimants will be included in the Claimant Count published by the Office for National Statistics.

Esther McVey: The Department published the strategy for releasing official statistics on universal credit in September 2013 and this is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics
	As outlined in the strategy, DWP officials are currently quality assuring data for universal credit and aim to release an initial set of official statistics on universal credit claimants before the end of 2013. These official statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Statistics Code of Practice and the precise release date will be pre-announced as soon as possible.
	Statisticians within DWP and Office for National Statistics are working closely to ensure that information on universal credit claimants can be included within the claimant count as soon as possible.

Welfare State: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2013, Official Report, column 499W, on welfare state: Northern Ireland, what future flexibilities will be introduced for Northern Ireland in respect of mitigation measures for welfare reform.

Michael Penning: Social Security in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and the Northern Ireland Assembly is currently considering a separate Northern Ireland Welfare Reform Bill.
	Should the Northern Ireland Executive decide not to implement the welfare reform agenda, this would have a number of implications—both financial and operational.
	It is now a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive to decide what course of action they wish to take. However, I can confirm that my officials and I will continue to work closely with the Department for Social Development.

JUSTICE

Bail

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 13 July 2011, Official Report, column 323W, on bail, if he will publish figures for the most recent period for which information is available.

Shailesh Vara: During financial year April 2011 to March 2012, there were a total of 68 breaches of bail conditions (securities only) amounting to forfeiture of £433,398.54. There were no forfeitures of bail conditions where surety was given.
	Also during financial year April 2012 to March 2013, there were a total of 84 breaches of bail conditions (securities only) amounting to forfeiture of £739,192.35. There were no forfeitures of bail conditions where surety was given.
	This was recovered in full from bail deposits (lodged) paid directly into the HMCTS Bail Deposit bank account.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will ensure that the UK's Mid-Term Report (Universal Periodic Review) to the UN Human Rights Council includes British Indian Ocean Territory.

Shailesh Vara: There were no specific recommendations regarding the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) in the UK's Universal Periodic Review report in May 2012. The mid-term review document is currently being drafted, and we cannot comment further on its content at this time.

Corruption: EU Law

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the usefulness of co-operation involving the UK undertaken as a result of Article 9(2) of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of member states of the European Union in the fight against the offences in question; whether the Government intends to maintain this co-operation unchanged if the UK ceases to be bound by the Convention pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; and if the Government intends to maintain this co-operation, how it will be maintained;
	(2)  in how many cases the UK has co-operated with the authorities of one or more other EU member state owing to the provisions of Article 9(2) of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of members states of the European Union in each of the last five years; and what the substance and outcome of the co-operation was in each case;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the usefulness of co-operation involving the UK undertaken as a result of Article 9(1) of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of member states of the European Union in the fight against the offences in question; whether the Government intends to maintain this co-operation unchanged if the UK ceases to be bound by the Convention pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; and if the Government intends to maintain this co-operation, how it will be maintained;
	(4)  what laws or practices have been implemented in the UK to meet the requirements of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of member states of the European Union; and whether the Government intends to retain these implementing measures unchanged if the UK ceases to be bound by the Convention pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties;
	(5)  in how many cases UK authorities have co-operated with the authorities of one or more other EU member state owing to the provisions of Article 9(1) of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of member states of the European Union in each of the last five years; and what the substance and outcome of the co-operation was in each case;
	(6)  whether the UK implements all the requirements of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of member states of the European Union; and if not, which requirements are not implemented.

Shailesh Vara: I have made no assessment of the usefulness of co-operation involving the UK undertaken as a result of Article 9(1) or Article 9(2) of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of member states of the European Union but note that many of the matters covered have now been superseded by other measures. The Government do not hold data relating specifically to co-operation with the authorities of one or more other EU member state owing to the provisions of Articles 9(1) and (2) of the Convention. The Government intend to maintain international co-operation unchanged if the UK ceases to be bound pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties. This will be maintained through the usual operational and judicial co-operation arrangements. The UK implements all the requirements of the Convention, in the main through the Bribery Act 2010, with reliance also on the UK law and practices relating to extradition, mutual legal assistance and international police, prosecutorial and judicial co-operation. The Government intend to retain these measures unchanged if the UK ceases to be bound pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Government plans to maintain unchanged all UK measures implementing Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA if the UK ceases to be bound by that Framework Decision pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties.

Shailesh Vara: The Government plan to maintain unchanged all UK measures implementing the Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA if the UK ceases to be bound by that Framework Decision pursuant to article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties.

Food Banks

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of court diversion schemes make referrals to local food banks.

Shailesh Vara: HMCTS does not operate any court diversion schemes which make referrals to local food banks.
	HMCTS is working with the Department of Health, wider Ministry of Justice, the Youth Justice Board and the Home Office to take forward Government proposals to invest in liaison and diversion services for offenders with mental health, substance misuse and other vulnerabilities.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff have been employed by the Court Service in North Wales in the last five years for which records are available.

Shailesh Vara: Permanent and fixed terms staff headcount in courts and tribunals in North Wales since September 2009:
	
		
			 As at September: FTE 
			 2009 241 
			 2010 222 
			 2011 190 
			 2012 178 
			 2013 167 
		
	
	In 2011 Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals service was created. Enforcement staff and directorate personnel including those responsible for the administration of Estates and Finance were removed from North Wales headcount and included in directorate administrative structures.
	In 2009 staffing numbers included those working in Enforcement, Estates and Finance Directorates. Since the establishment of national administrative units, staff based in North Wales within these directorates are no longer shown within these numbers. Therefore it is not possible to provide a direct staffing comparison between staffing levels now and in 2009.

Prison Sentences: Wales

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) men and (b) women were sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence of less than six months for each type of offence by courts in North Wales in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2013 to date.

Jeremy Wright: Prison is the right place for serious, dangerous and persistent offenders. Since 2010, those who break the law are more likely to be sent to prison.
	The number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody of less than six months, by gender and offence type, in the North Wales police force are in 2012 is given in Table 1.
	The information for 2013 is not provided as it is only provisional and it is planned for publication in May 2014.
	
		
			 Table 1: Persons sentenced to immediate custody(1) for less than six months by gender and offence group in North Wales police force area, 2012 
			  2012 
			 Offence group Males Females Unknown Total 
			 Violence against the person 49 3 — 52 
			 Sexual offences 4 — — 4 
			 Burglary 44 — — 44 
			 Theft and handling of stolen goods 183 27 — 210 
			 Fraud and forgery 16 2 — 18 
			 Criminal damage 11 — — 11 
			 Drug offences 11 — — 11 
			 Other (excluding motoring) 52 6 — 58 
			 Indictable motoring 4 — — 4 
			 Summary non-motoring 215 10 1 226 
			 Summary motoring 43 — — 43 
		
	
	
		
			 All offences 632 48 1 681 
			 (1) Includes: sentences imposed under sections 90-92 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; indeterminate sentence for public protection; extended sentence for public protection; Detention and Training Orders; Young Offenders Institute; and unsuspended imprisonment. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates in England and Wales have been given training on sections 2A and 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

Shailesh Vara: The responsibility for judicial training, including magistrates, lies with the Lord Chief Justice and is exercised through the Judicial College. Magistrates are advised in court by their legal advisers who, as professional lawyers, will keep themselves up-to-date with legal developments. The Judicial College assists with this by providing regular updates on any changes to the law via a jurisdictional electronic internal newsletter. It did so in respect of these provisions in June 2012. Additionally, the Justices' Clerks Society, the professional body for legal advisers, circulated a news-sheet in December 2012 dealing with the new offences.

Victims' Commissioner

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what budget is allocated to support the work of the Victims' Commissioner.

Shailesh Vara: In the current financial year (2013-14) the budget allocation for the Victims' Commissioner is £264,126 this covers the salary of the Commissioner and the costs of her office.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Departments: ICT

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of the accredited providers for the G-Cloud are (a) consultants and (b) application providers.

Nick Hurd: Of the 708 suppliers on G-Cloud iii around 100 are consultancy firms and 400 offer software as a service. Over 80% of the suppliers are small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
	Since the last general election, Government spend on consultancy has fallen dramatically saving the taxpayer £1 billion last year alone.

Implementation Unit and Delivery Unit

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost was of (a) establishing the Number 10 Implementation Unit and (b) abolishing the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit; and what the differences are between the work of both units.

Francis Maude: There was no cost of abolishing the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU). There was no specific cost to setting up the Implementation Unit (IU) beyond that of normal departmental business.
	PMDU primarily focused on delivery of the previous Government's top-down targets. It reported to the Prime Minister through the Cabinet Secretary.
	IU focuses on improving the implementation of the Government's highest strategic priority programmes, as determined by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. This includes a strong focus on the implementation of both growth and social policy commitments. In addition, it is responsible for co-ordinating Departmental Business Plans and supporting their implementation. The Implementation Unit reports to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister via the Minister for Government Policy and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Public Consultation

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what proportion of Government consultations include a summary of responses;
	(2)  if he will consider introducing the role of Consultation Commissioner to oversee Government consultations;
	(3)  if he will consider making the publication of a summary of responses obligatory in Government consultations;
	(4)  what proportion of Government consultations have published (a) all responses, (b) some of the responses and (c) none of the responses since May 2010.

Oliver Letwin: As part of the recent review of the Consultation Principles, Cabinet Office officials have worked closely with an Independent Advisory Panel drawn from academe, industry and charities to help officials better understand the practical operation of the principles. The findings and recommendations from this review will be published in the near future.
	The Consultation Principles are not intended to be prescriptive nor impose strict obligations on Departments. Oversight of consultations remains a departmental role but the principles provide best practice across Government.
	Information regarding the specific content of Government consultations is not held centrally.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development who paid for the road building programme associated with Bost Airfield and Bost Agricultural Park in Afghanistan.

Justine Greening: This programme was funded by the US and the UK.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what return has been achieved on her Department's investment in Bost Airfield and Bost Agricultural Park in Afghanistan.

Justine Greening: The completion of phase one of the project enabled three commercial flights per week into Bost Airfield, connecting Helmand to the rest of the country. This cut journey times between Kabul and Helmand from two days to a one and a half hour flight.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for what reasons her Department operated a leaseholdings rather than land purchase programme at Bost Agricultural Park.

Justine Greening: No leaseholding programme was in place.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many fluent Pashto speakers her Department hired to work with locals on the leaseholding elements of Bost Agricultural Park.

Justine Greening: DFID Afghanistan employs local staff and fluent Pashto speakers on all projects as appropriate.

African Union

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions (a) she and (b) her Ministers have met officials of the African Union in the last 12 months; and what subjects were discussed on each such occasion.

Lynne Featherstone: There have been three meetings involving DFID Ministers in the last 12 months. The Deputy Prime Minister and I met African Union Commission (AUC) Deputy Chairperson H.E. Erastus Mwencha in February 2013 to discuss G8 issues. I met AUC Chairperson H.E. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in June 2013 to discuss G8 and gender issues. Dlamini-Zuma and DFID Secretary of State Justine Greening co-chaired the New Alliance Steering Committee in April 2013.

Bangladesh

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what role her Department played in developing the International Labour Organisation programme for improving working conditions in the Bangladesh ready-made-garment sector; and what involvement her Department plans to have in the operation of that programme.

Alan Duncan: Since my visit to Bangladesh at the beginning of June, DFID has been working with partners to develop a package of support to help improve working conditions in the garment sector in Bangladesh. The ILO programme, which is a key part of this package, is a result of months of discussion and development with the ILO and others, in which DFID officials have played an active part.
	DFID Bangladesh will provide up to £4.8 million in support of the ILO programme, and will be directly involved in the direction and monitoring of the programme over the next three years, through the programme steering committee and regular monthly meetings with the other donors and the ILO. The programme supports the implementation of the National Action Plan, which brings together the Government of Bangladesh, workers and manufacturers for real and sustained change that will ensure safe conditions for workers. It will also play a coordinating role with two brand initiatives: the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Developing Countries: Females

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure that gender equality and women's empowerment becomes a standalone goal in the post-2015 development framework.

Justine Greening: The UK has been clear in its advocacy for a standalone post-2015 goal on gender equality and girls' and women's empowerment as well as ensuring that these issues are mainstreamed in the goals and targets in the framework to be agreed by the United Nations.
	We are working with others across the international community, including civil society, to ensure that this is achieved.

Developing Countries: Females

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effect of barriers to political participation to the lives of women and girls in developing countries.

Lynne Featherstone: Women's equal participation in political processes is central to achieving DFID's strategic vision for girls and women. These show that removing barriers to women's political participation can lead to increased numbers of female representatives and decisions that give greater priority to poverty reduction and gender equality, for example, legislation relating to honour killing or the provision of rural water and sanitation services.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) UK businesses and (b) the public purse of compliance with policies in the European Climate Change Programme since the implementation of those policies.

Gregory Barker: The EU climate and energy package, enacted in 2009, is a set of binding legislation which aims to ensure the EU meets its climate and energy targets for 2020. These targets, known as the “20-20-20” targets, set three key objectives for 2020:
	A 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels;
	Raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20%;
	A non-binding 20% improvement in the EU's energy efficiency.
	The package comprises four pieces of complementary legislation (see as follows) and estimates, of the costs and benefits were set out in the original Impact Assessment published in 2009.(1) This estimated average annual costs to the UK over the period 2013 to 2020 of around £3 billion with annual benefits estimated at between around £1.3 billion and £35.2 billion, depending on the value of carbon used for emissions savings (all figures in present value terms, 2008 prices).
	The Government has not estimated the total costs to UK businesses and public purse since the implementation of these policies but, where available, latest cost estimates for individual elements of the package are given as follows.
	1. The EU Renewable Energy Directive.
	This requires that 15% of the UK's energy demand in 2020 is from renewable sources. To increase and accelerate the use of renewable energy a number of schemes have been introduced. The renewables obligation (RO) provides incentives for large-scale renewable electricity generation by making UK suppliers source a proportion of their electricity from eligible renewable sources. The feed-in tariffs (FITs) scheme pays energy users who invest in small-scale, low-carbon electricity generation systems for the electricity they generate and for unused electricity they export back to the grid. Combined, the costs of the RO and FITs schemes are estimated to add around £10 per MWh or 9% to the price of electricity for businesses in 2013 (all real 2012 prices).
	In addition the renewable heat incentive and renewable heat premium payment schemes provide support to renewable heat and are estimated to have cost a total of £15 million in financial year 2011-12 and £39 million in 2012-13, with budgets to the end of the spending review period of £251 million in 2013-14, £424 million in 2014-15 and £430 million in 2015-16 (all nominal prices). This is funded through general taxation.
	The renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO) requires companies that supply more than 450,000 litres of fuel per year to source a percentage from renewable sources. In financial year 2012-13, the RTFO is estimated to have added around £315 million (in nominal prices) onto the cost of the UK transport fuel supply.
	2. Reform of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) Directive.
	The EU ETS puts a price on carbon by placing a cap on total EU greenhouse gas emissions from the power and energy intensive industrial sectors. By enabling trading of allowances, emission reductions can take place where the cost of the reduction is lowest. More abatement will be undertaken by organisations with lower abatement costs and those with high abatement costs can instead purchase allowances.
	Over the course of Phase II of the EU ETS (2008-12), UK industrial sectors received around 136 million more free allowances than they needed to cover their emissions over this period. At the same time UK large electricity producers received a shortfall (around 218 million fewer than their total emissions). In addition over the same period, UK participants used around 77 million international project credits for compliance; these trade at a lower price to EU ETS allowances, reducing costs.
	In 2013 the EU ETS is estimated to add around £2 per megawatt hour (MWh) or around 2% to the price of electricity for businesses in 2013, based on an EU ETS price of around £6 per tonne of CO2 (all real 2012 prices).
	3. National targets for non-EU ETS emissions.
	Under the so-called effort sharing decision, member states have taken on binding annual targets for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions from the sectors not covered by the EU ETS, such as housing, agriculture, waste and transport (excluding aviation). The UK's target is a 16% reduction in 2020 levels compared to 2005. Policies to comply with the Renewable Energy Directive and the UK's carbon budgets are expected to deliver the reductions in emissions required to meet this target, implying no additional costs.
	4. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).
	The final element is a directive creating a legal framework for the environmentally safe use of CCS technologies. The climate and energy package does not address the energy efficiency target directly. This is being done through the 2011 energy efficiency plan and the Energy Efficiency Directive. It is too early to assess the costs and benefits of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, as the UK has until June 2014 to transpose its requirements into domestic law. Any significant costs and benefits will be set out in published impact assessments, relating to the separate articles of the directive.
	(1) http://www.ukccsrc.ac.uk/system/files/euclimateenergypackage.pdf

Climate Change Convention

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department will attend COP19 in Warsaw.

Gregory Barker: The UK delegation to the UNFCCC COP in Warsaw has not yet been finalised. The delegation list will be published following the meeting, as is normal practice.

Energy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representations he has received from (a) the solar PV industry and (b) the nuclear industry on (i) the length of contract and (ii) the approximate £ per MWH subsidy required from around 2019 to bring forward investment.

Michael Fallon: The Government consulted from 17 July to 25 September this year on the draft EMR Delivery Plan that set out proposed strike prices for renewables, including for Solar Photo-Voltaic (>5MW), under Contracts for Difference commissioning 2014-15 to 2018-19.
	The Government will publish a summary of representations received alongside the final Delivery Plan scheduled for publication in December 2013.
	The Government has been engaged in lengthy negotiations over an investment contract for Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, the results of which were announced on 21 October. The key terms of this deal are that there will be a strike price of £89.50/MWh (assuming a £3/MWh reduction if a positive final investment decision is taken for a follow-up EPR reactor at Sizewell) from when the plant begins commercial operations in 2023, and the contract will last for 35 years.
	We anticipate entering into negotiations in due course with Hitachi for an investment contract to cover their planned developments.

Energy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the cost trajectories of (a) solar PV and (b) nuclear power over the past decade; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: DECC has not made an assessment of the cost trajectories of (a) solar PV and (b) nuclear power over the past decade. DECC estimates for levelised costs are forward looking and estimate the cost of future build for various technologies.
	DECC has published levelised costs since 2010. These can be found on the 'Energy generation cost projections' page of the DECC Website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-generation-cost-projections

Energy: Billing

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to help people in (a) the North West and (b) Rossendale and Darwen constituency reduce their energy bills.

Gregory Barker: We have a range of initiatives to help all households with their energy bills.
	Firstly, we are helping vulnerable consumers with their bills through the warm home discount scheme, winter fuel payments and cold weather payments. Secondly, we are helping households waste less energy and cut their bills through energy company obligation, the green deal and smart meters. Thirdly, we are providing legislative backing to Ofgem's Retail Market Reforms which will ensure that consumers are on the cheapest tariff their supplier offer which meets their preferences as well as providing clearer and more transparent information to help consumers switch suppliers.
	Last year, the Department provided funding to reduce fuel poverty, boost energy efficiency through the green deal and encourage collective switching through the DECC Local Authority Competition 2012-13. 19 grants were awarded to local authorities in the North West. The full list of projects awarded funding is available here:
	https://www.gov.uk/decc-local-authority-competition

Energy: Prices

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information he holds on whether the big six energy companies will raise prices further over the next six months.

Michael Fallon: Price alterations are a commercial decision for energy suppliers: the Government is committed to increasing competition between them and greater transparency for their customers.

Fracking: Clwyd

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely level of tar shale deposits in the Vale of Clwyd.

Michael Fallon: No detailed assessment of shale oil or gas in the Vale of Clwyd has been made. A DECC-commissioned British Geological Survey report, “The Hydrocarbon Prospectivity of Britain's Onshore Basins”, notes the Formby oil seep and identifies oil seeps in north Wales, east of the Vale of Clwyd:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66170/uk-onshore-prospectivity.pdf
	These have been recognised since the 17(th) century, and led to the discovery of the very shallow Formby Oilfield in 1939 which produced heavy oil from sandstone.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department plans to underwrite the construction costs of the power station at Hinkley Point; what the terms of the £10 billion loan guarantee for that power station announced in the Spending Review are; whether the strike price will be updated in line with the Consumer Prices Index or Retail Prices Index; whether his discussions with investors have included provision for future alterations of the strike price (a) upwards or (b) downwards; if he will make it his policy that any increase in anticipated costs for Hinkley C will not result in any further funding from (i) the public purse and (ii) bill payers to complete the project; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), made a full statement to Parliament on 21 October 2013, Official Report, columns 23-25, on the key commercial terms for Hinkley Point investment contract.
	HM Treasury announced in June that Hinkley Point C qualifies for a UK Guarantee, but no agreement has yet been reached with the investors in Hinkley Point C about the terms of any such Guarantee. The Strike Price which has recently been announced will not change as a result of any Guarantee.
	The Strike Price will be fully indexed to CPI. There will be operational cost review arrangements, including at 15 and 25 years, to reassess operating costs and adjust the strike price if necessary.

Oil: Scotland

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent meetings he has had with representatives from oil import and distribution companies, with regards to increasing the amount of oil imported into Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Michael Fallon: DECC Ministers have been engaging regularly with representatives from the oil industry with regards to contingency planning for oil in Scotland.
	The UK Government has been working closely with the fuel industry and the Scottish Government to ensure that motorists can carry on as normal, by encouraging Scottish forecourts to increase their stock levels well above normal levels as a precaution, by engaging with other import terminal operators in Scotland to increase their throughput to maximum and by ensuring that hauliers have strong contingency measures in place. We have also been working with airports to ensure they have contingency plans in place to ensure supply of jet fuel, and with heating oil distributors to encourage them to stock up early. Arrangements are also being made to protect the continuing operation of the Forties Pipeline at the Kinneil processing plant on the Grangemouth site so crude oil can continue to flow from North sea operations that use this pipeline.

Plutonium

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to determine which technologies are deemed credible to reuse plutonium at the end of the nuclear fuel cycle; and what the reasons are for the time taken to make that decision.

Michael Fallon: The Government's position on plutonium management, as set out in our December 2011 consultation response, is that converting the plutonium into MOX is the most credible and technologically mature option for reuse, but that we remain open to any alternative proposals that offer better value to the taxpayer.
	As part of the work to consider alternative proposals, the NDA has been working closely with both GE Hitachi on their Prism reactor and with Candu on their EC6 reactors. The NDA has prepared advice for DECC on these alternatives as well as on the reuse as MOX option.
	The NDA's advice will help us to understand the technical and commercial risks associated with all the options and form part of our considerations about how we should progress this work. In due course the NDA will publish its planned public version of that advice, as announced on 1 August. It will provide information about the work that has been done and present views about the various options proposed for plutonium management. It is not intended to be a final decision on the technology we will use to manage our plutonium.
	As noted in our 2011 consultation response, there will be many steps to go through before we reach the point of taking a final decision. This is expected to include a competitive tendering and procurement process to help secure best value to the taxpayer; only when the Government is confident that its preferred option could be implemented safely and securely, that it is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money, will it be in a position to proceed.

Radioactive Waste

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons his Department has decided not to hold stakeholder information and engagement meetings in (a) Scotland and (b) Northern Ireland in association with his Department's national public consultation on the Geological Disposal Facility siting process review.

Michael Fallon: The stakeholder events are supplementary to the consultation on a revised siting process for a geological disposal facility (GDF), which follows standard Government consultation procedure and is a full 12 weeks long. The events have been planned to cover as wide a geographical spread as is proportionate and cost-effective.
	Nuclear waste policy is a devolved issue and since policy in Scotland for the management of higher level radioactive waste is not geological disposal, the consultation has not been issued by the Scottish Government.

The Guardian

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on advertising with (a) The Guardian newspaper, (b) The Guardian website and (c) The Guardian  Media Group in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 18 October 2013
	From the Department's financial records, two direct payments have been identified attributable to advertisements appearing in The Guardian in 2009-10 (£5,000) and in 2012-13 (£2,000).
	DECC on occasion uses agencies to manage newspaper advertising which may include advertisements placed in The Guardian. We are not able to identify payments that they may have made on our behalf without incurring disproportionate cost.